The UK defense ministry has announced an investment of £75 million into new Royal Navy robot and autonomous mine-hunting technologies. The funding boost will be spent on two new autonomous mine-hunter vessels with sonars to enable remote mine-hunting at higher range, speed and accuracy in the Persia
Royal Canadian Navy and Spanish Navy frigate assigned to NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Odesa, Ukraine on April 1 for a routine port visit. Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto and Spanish frigate ESPS Santa Maria arrived in Odesa after patrolling in the Black Sea with fellow SNMG2 s
The Royal Australian Air Force-organized exercise Diamond Shield provided an opportunity for the Australian Navy’s second air warfare destroyer HMAS Brisbane to integrate and operate with the fifth-generation F-35A fighter jet for the first time. Brisbane embarked three Fighter Controllers from the
The US Navy’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) arrived in Subic Bay, on March 30, ahead of exercise Balikatan. Wasp arrived in the Philippines with embarked Marines from Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) 4, which are led by 4th Marine Regiment. This will
US Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) returned to sea March 28 after completing a scheduled planned incremental availability (PIA) which started in the second half of 2017. During the overhaul, the carrier received innovative upgrades, including a
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class frigate HMAS Melbourne got underway from her Sydney homeport to start a two-month deployment to the Pacific and South East Asia. “It’s sad to think about those at home when we sail from Sydney on deployment, but I’m excited about what the ship and crew will ach
Royal Navy auxiliary landing ship dock RFA Mounts Bay served as the test bed for a mobile US Navy minehunting force during a recent test off the coast of Virginia. The test included helicopters, divers, remote-controlled boats and automated surveying machines and was intended to see whether a task f
The lead ship of the US Navy’s new class of aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), will return to operations three months later than originally planned, in part due to issues related to ship’s nuclear propulsion plant. News of the delay comes amid the confirmation of a US Navy plan to r
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Australia-based shipbuilder Austal a $261.7 million contract for additional work on Expeditionary Fast Transport Ships (EPF) 13 and 14. The contract award extends the EPF program to 2022, with construction of EPF 13 to commence in late 2019 and EPF 14 to
The Royal Australian Navy’s third Hobart-class air warfare destroyer Sydney is set to enter operations a year earlier than originally planned following an accelerated capability upgrade. As explained, the defense ministry was able to streamline a technical upgrade to the ship during its build at the
US Navy and Marine Corps units are wrapping up two weeks of joint drills as part of exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 in and off the coast of Southern California. The scenario-driven field-training exercise kicked off March 12 and is set to conclude on Tuesday, March 26. The exercise involved command and
The Australian government has awarded a contract for the second stage of upgrades at the Royal Australian Navy’s Garden Island base in Sydney. The latest contract represents “stage two” of the Critical Infrastructure Recovery Program which is valued at AUD 286 million. The works represent the govern
Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster got underway from Portsmouth to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) for a deployment to northern Europe and the Baltic. The Duke-class frigate is scheduled to conduct exercises within her task group as well as a variety of port visits that wil
The Australian government has awarded Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia (SEDA) a contract for in-service support to the Royal Australian Navy’s infrared search and track systems. Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne said as the prime contractor, SEDA would provide maintenance and supp
